Explore the Hatchie River!

First a little about me

I love everything about the outdoors and nature. I grew up playing outside, hiking, riding horses, fishing, collecting rocks, having picnics, playing sports, swimming, and more. My mom would take my sister and I several weekends a year to Fort Pillow State Historic Park to hike the trails and look at everything related to nature. She would teach us all about the flora and fauna on the trails. We also spend many weekends outside with my dad, stepmom and brother playing sports, swimming, fishing, and enjoying being outside. I also spend a lot of time writing and illustrating stories!

My husband and I have four children. We have made sure to raise them to love God and nature as well. We spent a lot of time taking them hiking, watching wildlife, traveling to state and national parks, visiting wildlife management areas, fishing, hunting, birding, and all things outdoor related. One of our favorite things to do was take then on an afternoon drive through "the bottoms" (backroads) to watch for deer and other wildlife. Our favorite parks and WMAs to visit are the Hatchie and Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Pillow State Historic Park, Reelfoot, Wapanocca NWR (Ark), St. Francis National Forest (ARK), Seven Islands Birding Park, Cades Cove, Duck River Unit, and the Tipton County Museum.

Eight years ago, I took up wildlife photography. My two favorite spots to photograph wildlife are the Tipton County Museum (where I volunteer) and O'Neal Lake in the Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge. That lead to us meeting a lot interesting people and participating in lots of different things. We attended the Hatchie Bird Fest and decided to hold one at the Museum the next year. It was a lot of fun, and we are going into our third year of holding the festival and of course we still attend the Hatchie Bird Fest every year as well. My husband and I are Certified Volunteer TWRA Hunter Safety Instructors. We love to volunteer with anything nature related and it's also a way to teach kids safety while enjoying the outdoors as well. We also joined the Hatchie River Conservancy and became board members. The Hatchie River Conservancy is a great group. They do so much for the river and our environment. I decided to give part of the proceeds of the sale of my Hatchie book to the Conservancy so that each purchase can do a little to help the river.

Why I wrote The Adventures of Hatchie and friends

I wrote The Adventures of Hatchie and Friends because of my love for nature and everything that goes along with it as well as to teach children about conservation in a fun way they could understand, as well as teach them about the Hatchie River, or all rivers really. They are so important to our environment. If children grow up loving nature and learning about the environment and how to take care of it, they will be more likely to protect it in the future.

A little about the Hatchie

The Hatchie River flows through six counties in West Tennessee. It is a unchanneled river meaning it's free flowing and natural. It hasn't been modified by humans to make it deeper, wider, or straighter. Channelizing a river can destroy habitats that are important to fish, insects, and other wildlife. It can cause wetlands to drain, and even flooding or increased sedimentation downstream.

The Hatchie River has over 100 species of fish, including 11 species of catfish, which is the largest number of catfish species in one river in North America. It has Alligator Gar which is an endangered and protected species in TN. The river also has 35 species of freshwater mussels, several of which are also endangered, including the Southern Rainbow, Southern Hickorynut, Fatmucket, and others. A few other endangered or protected species that call the Hatchie home are the Eastern Slender Glass Lizard, Alligator Snapping Turtle, and the Hatchie Burrowing Crayfish. There are species in The Hatchie River that exist nowhere else in the world.

In the Hatchie Watershed, which is the forests and land around the Hatchie where rainfall and snowmelt flow into the river, many different species are found throughout the year, including over 250 different kinds of birds, over 70 different kinds of reptiles and amphibians, 60 species of butterflies, 60 species of dragonflies and damselflies, and many different types of mammals.

About the Book

In my book Hatchie wonders if she matters, as she makes her way around the bends, she meets fish, birds, crawfish, turtles, and other animals that live there. They explain to her the different benefits they get from her and teach her what they do for her as well. She even meets a little boy that helps her out of a predicament and explains to her how she is important to all of us!

I hope you enjoy this book and come to love nature as much as I do!

Julie

The Hatchie River 2025